It takes two to tango

The Indian government is looking at involving both the textile and tourism sectors in joint progressive development as the Indian textiles and related products industry is witnessing lots of good opportunities today. The Government is also looking at creating milestones through proper awareness in this regard. Union Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar said while noting that the government has identified some of its sectors that required to be improved in its path to development. The minister recently spoke at Technotex 2015 which launched the 1-TUFS programme and CEOs Forum besides the Child, Baby and Maternity Expo in Mumbai.

“The government is carefully studying the needs and progress of this sector both within India and globally and finance hopefully should not be a problem in the coming years”, he said while highlighting plans to set up 20 textile parks in the country.

“The textile sector is one such sector that was making successful strides and the government was seeking assistance of India’s industrialists in ensuring their progress”, he added while describing the textiles sector as an ever-growing one. “We are foreseeing shortage of agricultural land and have to plan futuristically in the use of existing such lands,” he said while noting that the 11th Plan and 12th Plan had brought out some schemes – for the benefit of the technical textiles sector – in which the textile policy focused ahead on the next 10 to 15 years.

Gangwar noted that the central government was working on removing all hurdles for the Indian textile industry and related sectors while also making continuous efforts for its development and also helping out the farming community including cotton farmers to prevent suicides. FICCI Chairman Shishir Jaipuria said that this event would be a catalyst for exhilarating growth in the sector. Most developed countries are focusing on textiles and India is focusing on FDI within the country with the “Make in India” giving the desired impetus for this effort. This Expo was held to sensitise both industry and government about the number of initiatives taken that had lead to this sector’s growth and FICCI’s initiatives too had generated interest among entrepreneurs – thus leading to 20 per cent growth in this industry while growing to $18 billion. However, Pramod Khosla, CMD, Khosla Profil PVt Ltd said, “the technical textiles sector needed government support and a technical textiles policy with a clear strategy to boost the industry further, besides also a clear clarification defining HSN code to ensure that technical textiles got benefits it deserved”. Mohan Kavrie, MD, Supreme Group, expressed hope that the event would be a game-changer in improving entrepreneurs participation to grow industry numbers. Sanjay Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GOI, said that for Indian technical textiles to remain competitive, technology was needed to produce goods with quality alongside providing enormous opportunity for growth.

“Our ministry has taken new initiatives including a new scheme providing Rs 423 crores. Agrotech technology is reducing moisture loss for farmers’ crops and is suitable for drought-prone areas,” he said. Gokula Indira, Tamil Nadu Minister for Handloom and Textiles said, “there is a need for a policy comprising committee of government and others for development and upgradation of this technology while producing opportunities to weavers. The Tamil Nadu government has provided Rs 260 crore for housing the weavers, besides 1.7 crore families being given ‘free’ sarees and dhotis alongside children given free school uniforms”, she said while inviting private investors to invest in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the “Child, Baby and Maternity” products sector grabbed the limelight at the Expo with related issues being highlighted by the industry. “Driven by demand, the child, baby and maternity products industry is growing at a rapid pace in India and globally and theChild, Baby and Maternity Expo India (CBMEu) aims to fuel the growing awareness of baby and child care while promoting a trade platform for the participating exhibitors in the related Expos,” said Yogesh Mudras, Acting Managing Director, UMB India which organised the third edition of the Expo in Mumbai recently.

Pointing out that the rise in income levels and awareness had led to increasing demand for baby products in India, he said the growing access to key Indian and international brands and their products in tier II and tier III cities has further fuelled the sector into a full-fledged industry with huge potential – and the CBME India aimed to tap this potential, making India, a lucrative market for child, baby and maternity products and services.” How important the Indian market is to the global manufacturing industry can be seen from the fact that there is a 30 per cent increase in this year’s participation and also that as many as 25 new products have been launched here now, besides the participants including countries like the USA and China who are keen to tap this market.

There are affordable and useful products here – though it’s up to the retailers to make them affordable in even rural areas of India – like citronella (mosquito repellant) on stickers, feeding bottles, footwear, cots etc.,” Mudras said. He also noted that rural areas too are become aware about foreign products, while many multinationals including one from Italy is manufacturing here and exporting products. While Chinese companies are joining in “Make in India” by bringing their technology here for manufacture, Chinese consumers themselves are also demanding the same standards for products as maintained abroad,” he added Michael Duck, Executive Vice President, UBM Asia Ltd., too emphasised on the importance of the Indian market by pointing out that of UBM’s 230 exhibitions organised in Asia, 23 of them were in India itself. “With a population of 1.3 billion in India, you can do the math by the number of babies born annually in India and multiply the amount of rupees spent on them which will come to a huge amount running in millions and this market keeps on growing.

Plus, Indian families are looking for safer, more hygienic, non-carcinogenic products for their babies, and the products here at the exhibitions are safe for use,” he said, adding, “Baby foods too are likely to become an interesting area of awareness in future such events.”Duck said, “UBM is holding such shows in all countries including those with changing economies. “There is a huge demand for such products and the China Expo itself is 20 times bigger than the one in India. We have manufacturers and retailers here to create awareness, though this event generates money also for the related hospitality and other sectors besides us,” he added.The three-day event – the only one of its kind in India – showcased global suppliers and manufacturers of child, baby and maternity products and services under one roof, including world-renowned brands like J L Morrison, Mother Care, TOONZ Retail, Chicco, Lovi, Combi, Smitten Baby and Small Wonder besides participation from countries like China, Hong Kong. Companies which showcased their products on day one of the event were House of Napius, Omved, Mothercare, Artsana and Lovi, Gerson & Gerson for Apparels, Babuline Pharma, Tuffstone (LOVI), Small Brown Box for Toys, House of Napius for Maternity Wear, Moms & Me, Indian Octopus, Rao Group, Omved, Mothercare, Toyvilla, Repellers and New Natraj Industries for Baby Products.While last year’s edition witnessed 75 exhibitors, 100 global and Indian brands and over 4,000 visitors, Mudras said this year’s 3rd edition of CBME had drawn over 80 exhibitors and 150 brands in an unrivalled business opportunity to Indian and global manufacturers and providers of child, baby and maternity products and services, providing access to thousands of retailers, wholesalers, distributors, investor, importers, franchisee market and educational institutions covering an entire spectrum from baby food to organic clothing, toys, furniture and stationery for infants and children, latest technology for infant safety and brain development etc. Technical textiles – known as the “sunshine sector” in India – are functional fabrics that have application across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc. Based on usage, there are 12 technical textile segments; Agrotech, meditech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Clothtech, Oekotech, Geotech, Packtech, Hometech, Protech, Indutech and Sportech. Despite achieving high growth rate, the per capita consumption of technical textiles in India is 1.7 kgs in comparison to 10-12 kgs in developed countries. Globally, technical textile contributes to about 27 per cent to textile industry and while in some western countries its share is even 50 per cent, it is a meager 11 per cent in India.

Along with initiatives taken by the government, this sector in India is expected to experience growth alongside industrial sectors like automotive, infrastructure etc; increasing per capita income; adaptability and acceptance of products; various governments FDI initiatives and scope of introduction of regulatory norms. The Ministry of Textiles and Government of India has taken various steps for improving skill set availability, raw materials and technology development through various schemes including: Technology Mission on Technical Textiles (TMTT) and Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS).According to INDA, Fredonia Group, IFAI, JEC, the global technical textiles market size was estimated at $281 billion in 2014. Globally, technical textiles sector has witnessed growth surpassing the conventional textile sector. As per IFAI estimates, the global technical textile consumption in 2010 was 23 million MT, and the vibrant Asian technical textile market recorded CAGR of 4.4 per cent in size between 2005 and 2010, while America and Europe compared at only three per cent in the same period. India is expected to be one of the leading global players in the technical textile domain in the coming years.

India and Russia are the other important markets for technical textiles where consumption is increasing at a fast pace. In India, the technical textile sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of the Indian economy and has registered CAGR of 11 per cent during the 11th Five Year Plan and, as per 12th Five Year Plan estimates by the sub-group on technical textiles, its market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent to reach Rs 1,58,540 crore by 2016-2017 from

Rs 75,925 crore in 2012-2013. To facilitate higher integration of technology into manufacturing processes and end-products, the Indian government has allowed upto 100 per cent FDI under automatic route for the technical textiles segment. Leading global manufacturers of technical textiles products will thus be able to set up manufacturing units in India, either alone or through partnerships with Indian industries. Central and state government efforts including holding international roadshow seem to have borne fruit as international companies come to India include; Ahlstrom, Johnson & Johnson, Du Pont, Proctor & Gamble, among others. India is also one of the places with cheapest labour in this industry whose many segments require much manual labour in form of stitching and weaving.